TRAVELIN' MAINE(RS): It's time to celebrate in Bethel
Tourists aren't always welcomed in Maine
Western Maine, from Bethel to Greenville, has always drawn tourists with a good range of lodging, restaurants and outdoor activities from hunting and fishing to skiing and snowmobiling. But from the get-go, we Mainers have had a love-hate relationship with people from away, whether they were here for the summer or just for a week of hunting.
Leon Leonwood Bean had the following advice for nonresident hunters in his book, Hunting-Fishing-and-Camping, republished this year by Down East Books for Bean’s 100th anniversary:
“When on your hunting trips do not try to belittle the back woods folk even though you are a college man and your home is in a big city.”
While your education and personal appearance may be far superior to theirs,” wrote LL, “they may be getting just as much pleasure out of life as yourself and when it comes right down to country common sense, they probably have you beaten.”